Automatic injector hypodermic syringe



Aug. 27, 1957 c. w. HILL 2,804,074

AUTOMATIC INJECTOR HYPODERMIC SYRINGE Filed April 29, 1955 .NVENTOR W 9% ATTOR EYS United States Patent ice AUTOMATIC INJECTOR HYPGDERMIC SYRINGE Clifford 'Warren Hill, Mountainside, N. 1..

Application April 29, 1955, Serial No. 504,764

11 Claims. (Cl. 128-218) application is a continuation-impart of my copending U. S. patent :application Serial No. 396,593, filed December 7, 1953, entitled Automatic Injector With Detachable Syringe.

Prior to the present invention there has been along existing need for an inexpensive hypodermic syringe which can be removably mounted in a housing and having an inexpensive means therein to automatically propel the needle (attached to the needle mounting end thereof) into the patients body.

It is recognized that many patients, such as diabetics, wish to or must self-administer the required medicaments, such as insulin, by means of a hypodermic. It is also Well known that a removable syringe or cartridge of medicament is desirable so that the patient can readily remove and insert a new syringe and either dispose of or refill the used syringe or cartridge. Further, the present hypodermic syringes which are adapted to provide these advantages are rather complex and likewise expensive.

It is a principal object of the present invention to provide an inexpensive syringe which can be readily removed from the apparatus which propels the syringe toward the patients body.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide an automatic syringe and propelling means having a simple construction and which is readily and simply manufactured with a resultant low cost.

It is a further object of this invention to provide an automatic hypodermic syringe which is absolutely safe to use and easily used by anyone regardless of mechanical aptitude.

Other advantages of this invention will be apparent from reading the following detailed description which refers to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Fig. l is a perspective view of an embodiment of my invention;

Fig. 2 is a cross sectional view taken on lines 2-2 of Figure 1;

Fig. 3 is a cross sectional view taken on lines 3-3 of Figure 1; and

Fig. 4 is a perspective view, partially in cross section, of another embodiment of my invention.

When the syringe barrel 1 and tubular housing 2 are assembled the barrel is located reciprocally in the housing. The upper end of the barrel 1 extends through an aperture 3 in the upper end of the housing. The barrel has one or more laterally extending portions 4 integrally attached thereto and adapted to extend laterally through a passage. or passages 5 in the housing to guide thebarrel in its generally longitudinal movements with respect to the housing.

The barrel l has a needle-mounting end 6 which is adapted to attach to. the base of a removable needle 7.

Patented Aug. 27, 1957 The. other end of :the barrel .is the plunger-receiving .end

.8 adapted 'to receive a plunger 9.

In use the barrel 1 would ordinarily be filled with the tively. To assemble the injector a helical spring .10, having an inner diameter slightly greater than the external diameter of the barrel 1 and an outer diameter less than theinner diameter of the housing, is inserted in the forwardopenendof the housing-and may be attached at 11to the upper end of the housing. Next the upper end of the barrel'is inserted up through the lower end of the housing 2 andthrough the helical spring 10 until the laterally extending portions 4 thereof are adjacent the lower end of the housing. The barrel is then rotated in the housing. until the portions 4 are longitudinally aligned with the lower end 1210f the passage 5. The barrel 1 is then pushed longitudinally upward with the portion or portions 4 sliding in passage or passages 5 until the portion-or portions 4 are disposed adjacent the jog or jogs 13. The barrel is then rotated in the jog 13 and with a plunger and needle is now ready for use by the patient.

With the lateral portions 4 resting in the jog 13 the upper or plunger-receiving end 8 of the barrel will extend through the aperture 3 of the housing so that the patient may grasp this end .to cock the syringe.

The injection procedure is very simple. The patient grasps the plunger-receiving end 8 and pulls it longitudinally upward, with relation to the housing, against the downward pressure of the spring 10. This upward movement of the barrel compresses the spring apredetermined amount depending on the length of the passage 5 above the jog 13. When the portions 4 come in contact with the end 14 of the passage 5, which is intermediate the ends of the housing, the .patient may place the bottom .of the housing against his arm, or other part of the body, and let .go of the portion or portions 4. The spring forces the portions 4 against the lower edge 15 of the jog 13 and the needle 7 is injected into the body of the patient a distance, depending on the length of the needle, as illustrated in Figure 2.

For the convenience of the patient a second jog 16 in passage 5 may be disposed at the upper end of this passage so that .the barrel can be temporarily locked in cocked position while the patient is positioning the housing with respect to his body. It will be evident that the patient, when this embodiment is used, can merely rotate the portion 4 out of the jog 16 to inject the needle when and wheredesired. The jog 16 may extend circumferentially in both directions from the passages as shown in Figure 4, so that a right or left handed person can easily fire or inject the needle by rotating the portions 4 out ofthe jog.

, Once the needle is injected into the patient the plunger 9 can be pushed downwardly into the barrel to force the medicament through the needle into the patient. The forward or lower end 17 of the plunger is formed of a material that is relatively elastic and easily deformable so that the-plunger will .slide in the barrel easily and yet in afluid-tight i .anner so that the medicament will be forced out of the barrel when the plunger is telescoperl into the barrel. It may be desirable to form the lower end 1'7 of the plunger with an annular ring of easily deformable resilient material or, depending on the material of the plunger, to position an O-ring adjacent the lower end. The plunger may be formed of an elastic tudinally may therefore be desirable as illustrated in Figure 4 where a central tube of relatively harder material 18 may run longitudinally through the center of the plunger to stiffen it. In ordinary use the patient will remove the needle by grasping the housing 2 and it is desirable that the portions 4 remain in the jog 13 so that the needle will be readily removed. Further referring to the embodiment shown Figure 4 the lower edge 15 of the jog 13 is inclined slightly with respect to the longitudinal axis of the housing so that the portions 4 must be moved up a slight positive incline to remove the barrel from housing. It has been found that without this slight incline there is some tendency for the portions 4 to jump through the jog 13 when the injector is fired with the result that the portions 4 are not disposed in the jog 13 when the patient attempts to remove the needle from his body.

In using this syringe there is one further step in the procedure that has not been set forth. In almost all instances after the needle has been injected into the patient it is essential that the patient pull the plunger 9 out of the barrel 1 slightly to determine whether or not the needle has entered a blood vein or artery (if this has happened a slight amount of blood will be drawn into the barrel). In order to perform this essential step a portion of the needle-mounting end 6 of the barrel must be visible to the patient while the needle remains in injected position. The injector described herein provides such visual access through the passage if the barrel is formed of an opaque material such as aluminum or a ferrous material. If a wider range of visual access is desired the housing may be formed of substantially transparent material such as a transparent plastic material.

It will be seen that due to the simplicity of this injector the barrel, the housing and the plunger (fitted with an 0-ring) may be molded, by Well known methods, from plastic or resinous material as long as the material chosen is relatively shock resistant and when desired transparent. It will be readily appreciated that each of these parts will be very inexpensive to mold with a resultant saving in labor and that the barrel portion or all of the parts may well be disposed of rather than reused. As compared to the cost of the medicaments that are most likely to be used in this type of injector the parts as described, when molded from plastic materials, are a very small percentage of the total cost of the injector and the medicament. The advantages of having a removable and disposable barrel portion will be obvious and depending on the material used to form the barrel and plunger it may be advantageous to the user to dispose of these also.

It has been determined that the automatic injector described and illustrated is a very inexpensive and feasible injector that can be easily used to self-administer medicaments, such as insulin. There has been a long felt Want for a simple, inexpensive and workable automatic injector which is fulfilled by the injector described herein.

I claim:

1. An automatic injection hypodermic syringe device including a syringe barrel having a laterally extending portion and having needle-mounting and plunger-receiv" ing ends, a tubular housing within Which said barrel is reciprocatively located, said housing having ends and an inside diameter greater than the outside diameter of said barrel but less than the lateral dimension of said barrel plus said laterally extending portion and a passage being formed in said housing so as to slidingly pass said laterally extending portion, said passage extending longitudinally wtih respect to said housing from one of said housings ends to a location spaced between both of said housings ends so that said syringe is removable through this first-named one of said housings ends and said passage having at least one jog portion extending substantially circumferentially with respect to said housing and said barrel being rotative within said housing so that said laterally extending portion may pass through said jog portion, and a spring located between the inside of said housing and the outside of said barrel and urging said barrel to move in the direction of its said needlemounting end towards said jog portion of said passage, the relative lengths of said housing and its said passage and said barrel being proportioned so that a portion of said barrel adjacent to the latters plunger-receiving end projects through and beyond the relatively adjacent one of said housings ends when said barrels laterally extending portion is located Within said passages jog portion.

2. An automatic injection hypodermic syringe device including a syringe barrel having a laterally extending portion and having needle-mounting and plunger-receiving ends, a tubular housing within which said barrel is reciprocatively located, said housing having ends and an inside diameter greater than the outside diameter of said barrel but less than the lateral dimension of said barrel plus said laterally extending portion and a passage being formed in said housing so as to slidingly pass said laterally extending portion, said passage extending longitudinally with respect to said housing from one of said housings ends to a location spaced between both of said housings ends so that said syringe is removable through this firstnamed one of said housings ends and said passage having at least one jog portion extending substantially circumferentially with respect to said housing and said barrel being rotative within said housing so that said laterally extending portion may pass through said jog portion, and a spring located between the inside of said housing and the outside of said barrel and urging said barrel to move "in the direction of its said needle-mounting end towards said jog portion of said passage, the relative lengths of said housing and its said passage and said barrel being proportioned so that a portion of said barrel adjacent to the latters plunger-receiving end projects through and beyond the relatively adjacent one of said housings ends when said barrels laterally extending portion is located vithin said passages jog portion, said barrel and said laterally extending portion being formed integrally from shock-resistant transparent material and said housing being constructed so as to make visible at least the portion of said barrel adjacent to said barrels needle-mounting end.

3. An automatic injection hypodermic syringe device including a syringe barrel having a laterally extending portion and having needle-mounting and plunger-receiving ends, a tubular housing Within which said barrel is reciprocatively located, said housing having ends and an inside diameter greater than the outside diameter of said barrel but less than the lateral dimension of said barrel plus said laterally extending portion and a passage being formed in said housing so as to slidingly pass said laterally extending portion, said passage extending longitudinally with respect to said housing from one of said housings ends to a location spaced between both of said housings ends so that said syringe is removable through this firstnamed one of said housings ends and said passage having at least one jog portion extending substantially circumferentially with respect to said housing and said barrel being rotative within said housing so that said laterally extending portion may pass through said jog portion, and a spring located between the inside of said housing and the outside of said barrel and urging said barrel to move in the direction of its said needle-mounting end towards said jog portion of said passage, the relative lengths of said housing and its said passage and said barrel being proportioned so that a portion of said barrel adjacent to the latters plunger-receiving end projects through and beyond the relatively adjacent one of said housings ends when said barrels laterally extending portion is located within said passages jog portion, said barrel and said laterally extending portion being formed integrally from shock-resistant transparent material and said housing being constructed integrally from shock-resistant transparent material.

plus said laterally extending portionand a passage being formed in said-housing so as to slidi-n gly pass said lateral- .ly} extending portion, said passage extending longitudinally with respect lO:S3ld housing from oneof said housing s ends tofa location spaced betweenflboth of said housings ends so that said syringe is removable'through this first-named one of said housingk ends and saidpassage having at least one jog portion extending substantially circumferentially w-ithirespect-to;said housing and said barrel being.rotative-within said housing so that said laterally extending portion may pass through said jog portion, andta. springrlocatedubetween the inside of said housing and the outsider-of said barrel and urging said barrel to movepintthe direction of its said needle-mount- ,ing,end towards said Ijogportiontof said passage, the relative lengths of said housing and its said passage and said barrel beingtproportioned'so thatoa portion of said barrel adjacent to the latters plunger-receiving end projects through andabeyondtherelatively adjacent one of said thousings ends when said.barrelfs'laterally extending porv tion is; located ,withinsaid passagesjog portion, said bar- ,rel and said laterally extending portion being formed integrally :from shock-resistant transparent material and said ihousingibeing,constructed so as to make visible at leasttheportion,ofasaidbarrel adjacentto said barrels needlermountinglend,tandtaspltuiger slidably located in said barrel and extendingafrom saidbarrels plunger-receiyingjend said plungerthavingt aforward end made of material of ,relatively ,easy ,lelastic deformability and which, slides insaid barrel-inaiiiuidtight manner.

5. An automatic injection hypodermic syringe device ,ineludinga syringe barrel having a laterally extending portion andhaving needle-mounting rand plunger-receiving ,e nds, ,a tubularthousing ,within ,which said barrel is reciprocatively located, said housing having ends andian inside diameter greater than the outside diameter of said barrel but lessthanthe lateral dimension of said barrel plus said laterally extending portionand a passage being formed in said housing so as to slidingly pass said laterally,extending portion, said passage extendinglongigudinally withrespect to saidhqusing from one of said hous' gs endstoaloeation spaced betweenboth of said housings ends so that said syringe is removable through this first-named one of said housings ends and said passage having at least one jog portion extending substantially circumferentially with respect to said housing and said barrel being rotative within said housing so that said laterally extending portion may pass through said jog portion, and a spring located between the inside of said housing and the outside of said barrel and urging said barrel to move in the direction of its said needle-mounting ends towards said jog portion of said passage, the relative lengths of said housing and its said passage and said barrel being proportioned so that a portion of said barrel adjacent to the latters plunger-receiving end projects through and beyond the relatively adjacent one of said housings ends when said barrels laterally extending portion is located within said passages jog portion, said barrel and said laterally extending portion being formed integrally from shock-resistant transparent material and said housing being constructed so as to make visible at least the portion of said barrel adjacent to said barrels needle-mounting end, and a plunger slidably located in said barrel and extending from said barrels plunger-receiving end, said plunger having a forward end made of material of relatively easy elastic deformability and which slides in said barrel in a fluid-tight manner, said plunger haying means for stiffening it longitudinally against deflection when receiving thrusting force.

6. An automatic injectionhypoderrnic syringe device comprising an integral molding of plastic forming a solid base-havinglaterally extending projections and a needlemountir g forward end and a duct formed longitudinally through said base and a cylinder extending rearwardly from said base and having an open plunger-receiving rear end, a tubular housing within which .said molding is reciprocatively located and said housing having ends and an inside diameter which is greater than the outside diam eter of said moldings cylinder butless than the lateral .dimension of; said baseplus said projections and said housing having passages formedtherein so as toslidingly pass said projections and said passages extending longitudinally from one of said housings ends -to a location spaced between both of said ends so that'said molding is removable through this first-named one of said ends and said passage having laterally registered jog portions extending substantially circumferentially with respect to said housing and said molding being rotativetherewithin so that saidprojections may pass through said jog portions, and'a spring 10- eated between the inside of said housingand the outside of said moldings cylinder and urging'said molding to move iorwardlytowards said passages jog portions, the relativelengths of said moldings cylinder and said housing being proportioned so that a portion of said cylinder projects through and beyond the relatively adjacent one of said housing s tends when said moldings projections are located within said passages jog portions.

'7. An-automaticginjection hypodermic syringe device comprising an integral molding of plastic forming a solid base having laterally extending projections and a needle- -mounting *forwarde nd-and ai duct formed longitudinally through saidybase and a cylinder extendingrearwardly .from said base and having an openplunger-receiving rear end, a tubular housing within. which said molding is reciprocatively locatedand said housing having ends and an inside diameter which: is-greater than-the outside diameter of said moldingscylinder butless than the lateral dimension of saidtbase plus said projections and saidthousing havingpassages forrned therein so as to slidingly pass said projections and said passages extending longitudinally frorn'o ne of said -housings ends to a location spaced between both of said ends so thatsaid molding .is removable throughthis firstnamed'one of saidends and said passage having lateral-ly -registered jog portions extending substantially circumferentiallywith trespeetto said housing .and said molding being rotative therewithin so that said projections maypass through said jog portions, and a spring located between the inside of said housing and the outside of said moldings cylinder and urging said ,molding to move forwardlytowards said passages jog portions, the relative lengths of said moldings cylinder and said housing being proportioned so that a portion of said cylinder projects through and beyond the relatively adjacent one of said housings ends when said moldings projections are located within said passages jog portions, said passages terminating with jog portions into which said projections may be turned to cock said molding against the force of said spring and released therefrom, said moldings solid base and projections sustaining the shock when said projections are halted by the first-named jog portions.

8. An automatic injection hypodermic syringe device comprising an integral molding of plastic forming a solid base having laterally extending projections and a needlemounting forward end and a duct formed longitudinally through said base and a cylinder extending rearwardly from said base and having an open plunger-receiving rear end, a tubular housing within which said molding is reciprocatively located and said housing having ends and an inside diameter which is greater than the outside diameter of said moldings cylinder but less than the lateral dimension of said base plus said projections and said housing having passages formed therein so as to slidingly pass said projections and said passages extending longitudinally from one of said housings ends to a location spaced between both of said ends so that said molding is removable through this first-named one of said ends and said passage having laterally registered jog portions extending substantially circumferentially with respect to said housing and said molding being rotative therewithin so that said projections may pass through said jog portions, and a spring located between the inside of said housing and the outside of said moldings cylinder and urging said molding to move forwardly towards said passages jog portions, the relative lengths of said moldings cylinder and said housing being proportioned so that a portion of said cylinder projects through and beyond the relatively adjacent one of said housings ends when said moldings projections are located within said passages jog portions, said passages terminating with jog portions into which said projections may be turned to cock said molding against the force of said spring and released therefrom, said moldings solid base and projections sustaining the shock when said pnojections are halted by the first-named jog portions, said housing comprising an integral plastic molding, and a plunger inserted in said cylinder through its plunger-receiving end and having an elastically deformable surface conforming to the inside of said cylinder and slidably sealing therewith.

9. An automatic injection hypodermic syringe comprising a syringe barrel having an integral laterally extending projection and an extrusion plunger, a tubular housing within which said barrel is reciprocatively located and having a passage for said laterally extending portion, said passage having a jog portion located so as to form a positive stop for said laterally extending portion and permitting passage thereof when said barrel and housing are turned relative to each other, so that these parts may be separated, and a spring located in said housing for driving said barrel towards said passages jog portion.

10. An automatic injection hypodermic syringe comprising a syringe barrel having an integral laterally ex tending projection and an extrusion plunger, a tubular housing within which said barrel is reciprocatively lo cated and having a passage for said laterally extending portion, said passage having a jog portion located so as to form a positive stop for said laterally extending portion and permitting passage thereof when said barrel and housing are turned relative to each other, so that these parts may be separated, and a spring located in said hous ing for driving said barrel towards said passages jog portion, said passage being formed with a second jog portion spaced from the first jog portion and located to cock said barrel against the force of said spring in a releasable manner when said barrel and housing are turned relative to each other.

a a slight incline 11. An automatic injection hypodermic syringe device comprising an integral molding of plastic forming a solid base having laterally extending projections and a needle-mounting forward end and a duct formed longitudinally through said base and a cylinder extending rear wardly from said base and having an open plunger-receiving rear end, a tubular housing within which said molding is reciprocatively located and said housing hav ing ends and an inside diameter which is greater than the outside diameter of said moldings cylinder but less than the lateral dimension of said base plus said pro jections and said housing having passages formed therein so as to slidingly pass said projections and said passages extending longitudinally from one of said housings ends to a location spaced between both of said ends so that said molding is removable through this first-named one of said ends and said passage having laterally registered jog portions extending substantially circumferentially with respect to said housing and said molding being rotative therewithin so that said projections may pass through said jog portions; said jog portions extending at with respect to the longitudinal axis of said housing to define a slight positive incline when said projections are passed through said jog portions in the removal direction, and a spring located between the inside of said housing and the outside of said moldings cylinder and urging said molding to move forwardly towards said passages jog portions, the relative lengths of said moldings cylinder and said housing being proportioned so that a portion of said cylinder projects through and beyond the relatively adjacent one of said housings ends when said moldings projections are located within said passages jog portions, said passages terminating with jog portions into which said projections I may be turned to cock said molding against the force of said spring and released therefrom,

said moldings solid base and projections sustaining the shock when said projections are halted by the first-named jog portions, said housing comprising an integral plastic molding, and a plunger inserted in said cylinder through its plungerreceiving end and having an elastically deformable surface confo-rming to the inside of said cylinder and slidably sealing therewith. 1

References Cited in the file of this patent FOREIGN PATENTS 295,554 Italy Apr. 25, 1932 455,036 France July 21, 1913 788,172 France Oct. 5, 1935 

